Gone Without A Word
by theshowerciara
Summary: After a particularly harrowing case in Wyoming, Emily admits how she feels to Hotch. He says he doesn't feel the same way, so she leaves. But when an unsub is stalking women who look like her in Florida, Hotch has to try convince her of his real feelings.
1. Chapter 1

**I've written Twilight, and Harry Potter, and this is my first time writing a fic that's not based on books...so yeah. I hope this is ok.**

**CBS owns everything, I just wish I owned Shemar Moore...;)**

Six years. It had been six years since Emily Prentiss had joined the BAU, and now she was leaving without telling anyone. They'd just finished a disturbing case in Wyoming, and she had finished typing her resignation letter. The bullpen was empty, as were all the offices. Everyone had gone home, even JJ and Hotch. The printer beside her whirred, and spat out the piece of paper that was officially ending her life in Virginia. She was leaving the bureau, and moving to Florida, to do something that wasn't going to have a chance of leaving her dead every week. She'd woken up in a hospital room once too many times, and her family were pressuring her to leave. And if she'd stayed, she'd have to deal with loving a man who'd made it clear that he didn't love her. There was nothing she could say to change Hotch's mind. He'd made it up, and there was nothing else that she could say or do to make him feel anything for her. She couldn't do anything about it, and she had to leave everything behind. Her strength was gone when it came to him, he had destroyed everything she had thought about their friendship, and Wyoming proved it. She'd been an idiot, and couldn't let him see her again.

The letter was signed, sealed, and she put the envelope on Hotch's desk, where he'd see it as soon as he got in in the morning.

Prentiss turned off the desk lamp, and walked out of the bullpen, down the elevator and walked out of the Quantico building.

"Morgan, is Prentiss in yet?" Aaron Hotchner walked through the bullpen, looking at everyone. They were all in, apart from Emily.

"Not yet, Hotch. Garcia said that her computer didn't shut off till after ten yesterday, she'll probably be in just before the briefing."

Hotch walked through, thinking about Emily. She'd confessed that she'd loved him in Wyoming, and he'd just turned her away like she was nothing. But she was everything. As soon as she arrived in he would tell her, even before the briefing. If it meant that he had to get down on his knees and beg her, he would. If he had to ask Strauss for a transfer, he would. The no-frat rule be damned, he'd make her realise that he hadn't meant to hurt her the way he had.

On his office, there was a small white envelope, with 'Agent Aaron Hotchner' on the front, in her handwriting. It was stuffed full, and looked like it could barely hold anything else in it.

There was one letter at the top, typed on official bureau paper.

_Dear Agent Hotchner_

_I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign from the Behavioural Analysis Unit (BAU), and also the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with immediate effect. Please find enclosed my badge, and my standard-issue firearm is locked inside the drawer of my desk._

_An identical letter has been sent to Section Chief, Agent Erin Strauss._

_Emily Prentiss._

Aaron sank into his chair, trying to figure it out. Emily had resigned...but why? After a few seconds, he realised that there was another piece of paper in the envelope, and he pulled it out, snagging it on her badge.

_Aaron,_

_I can't stay here anymore. You've told me your feelings, made them perfectly clear to me. And I did the same. They're just not compatible._

_I told Strauss that I'm just not able to deal with this anymore, that the job's gotten too stressful. She knows nothing about us, the way I know you want it._

_I'm going to Florida. As for what I'll do...that's undecided._

_Emily_

Aaron knew he'd been an idiot, but was that truly reason to be left without her? Why had Emily reacted so rashly? She'd never been like this, she'd never reacted in this way before. He could feel a tear welling up in his eyes, but there was no way that he could let it out. When the briefing was over, he could say 'wheels up', like always, go home and get his clothes, and cry all the way home and back.

"Hotch, we're all meeting now, alright? Emily's not in yet though." JJ popped her face in the door. She looked worried. "She's not answering her cell either, not her bureau one, or her personal one. I'm worried."

"JJ, I know what's happening. If you can get the team together for briefing, I'll explain everything. Where're we heading now?"

"Florida, and we're waiting for you." JJ walked away, leaving the door open. Hotch swallowed the lump in his throat, and followed her.

"Right, we've got a serial rapist on the loose in Orlando. He appears to be preying on brunette, beautiful women, either in their late thirties or early forties. All of them have recently been through a bad-break up, or are on the rebound. They've been attacked walking home from bars in the more touristy part of Orlando, which meant that police originally thought that only four women have been attacked, because tourists often report rape, but then refuse to go through rape kits."

"For religious reasons, or because they're too embarrassed to?" Spencer interjected.

"Both. Also because many of them were leaving the next day. When they realised there was a pattern to the rapes, they figured out that this guy has possibly raped upwards of fifteen people."

"So he preys on women who are hurting emotionally, who need support from a man, which means he's either exceptionally good looking, or exceptionally not good looking. He's the kind of guy who finds it either too difficult or too easy to pick up non-emotional women. And he has a specific type. Because rape isn't about sexual contact, but about power, it means that he is probably younger than his victims, I'd say probably twenty one, because he picks them up in bars, to thirty. He has a very specific type. If you look at all of them, they've grey eyes, brown hair so dark it's nearly black, and have pronounced, but fine features."

"They nearly look a bit like Prentiss...where is she, actually?" Morgan asked, looking at Hotch. The team followed his gaze, till they were all staring at him.

"Emily Prentiss is no longer a member of the BAU, and is no longer an agent in the FBI. Come on guys, I want wheels up in two hours." Hotch cut off any more questions by picking up his case folder, and leaving the room.

"Hotch!" Morgan called his name, jogging after him to catch up.

"What is it, Morgan?" Hotch just wanted to be alone, to be left to his own devices and thoughts, and be able to compose himself before dealing with everyone again, but Derek Morgan wasn't going to let him go.

"Hotch, I'm not stupid. Why did Emily go?"

"I don't know, Morgan. If I did, I'd be flying to wherever she is to get her back here. But she's gone, so we've got to make do with what we have, even if I know I'd much rather have her here with us now."

Morgan backed away, sensing his boss' emotions, and decided that there was no reason for him to continue with his questioning. Instead he walked along beside Hotch, a silence falling over the two men that couldn't be pidgeon holed into one particular type or not, it seemed to have a bit of everything in it.

Once they got outside, they nodded at each other, and turned in their separate directions. Hodge made his way to his red Toyota Prius, and sat in the drivers seat, before breaking down and sobbing into his arms at the steering wheel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, me again...don't get so excited about a new update, and PLEASE don't think I'm going to update so soon. I had two study periods during school today, so I was able to get this written, and just type it up at home. I'll update when I can, I promise :)**

**CBS owns Criminal Minds, my mind owns an image of a Thomas Gibson tummy roll...I should REALLY ask if we can swap...**

Jennifer Jareau was rarely worried or flustered, but today was a rare exception. She had her bag, had kissed Henry and Will goodbye, and was on her way to the airport. But it didn't feel right to be driving herself to it, to not have Emily in the seat beside her. JJ couldn't pretend that she knew why Emily had left, but had two theories. The first was the most plausible, that her mother had told her that if she didn't settle down she'd reveal secrets about Emily. The fact that the team knew all this didn't matter, Emily was embarrassed and upset whenever her life before joining the BAU was brought up. The second, scarier idea was that Emily had told Hotch her feelings, and they weren't reciprocated. It didn't matter that Emily was gorgeous, and that everyone on the team except Hotch knew how they both felt.

JJ parked the car, and fell into step with Spencer.

"JJ...did you actually know nothing? This isn't typical Emily behaviour. She generally just pushes herself further and further until she's better than anyone. Why did she break now?"

"If I knew that, Reid, I'd be on my way to wherever she is now. I don't even know where she is." As JJ spoke, her cell phone vibrated, and she answered it, without looking at the display.

"Jareau."

"JJ, it's me. I can't stay long, I'm on a payphone. I did what I think is right. But I'm not coming back."

"Emily, where are you? What happened? Are you safe?"

"JJ, you're a smart women, have you not figured it out?"

"I have two theories. Either your mother told you to leave, or you told him."

Emily laughed, but it was bitter, sarcastic.

"It was a bit of both, but mostly number two. I told Hotch that I love him, and he told me not to be stupid, did I need a transfer."

"So you left?"

"I made a fool of myself, what do you expect? Mom was putting pressure on me to leave the bureau anyway. She got exactly what she wanted. I'll just have to deal."

At that moment, the jet's engines started, and Emily hung up as soon as she heard them.

"Shit!" JJ exclaimed, redialing the payphone, but there was no answer.

"That was her, wasn't it? Did she say why?" Spencer may have had a genius IQ, as well as his three PhD's, but when it came to emotions, he was stunted as a twelve year old child.

JJ was caught between a rock and a hard place. Should she tell Spencer the truth, and risk him telling the rest of the team, or should she say that Emily left because of her mother?

"Her mom's been pressuring Em to do something she doesn't want to do, so she's been forced to leave. Reid, I don't want to think about it, ok?" Reid looked upset, but left it at that.

JJ and Spencer were the last to get on the plane, and both were slightly suprised to find Garcia on board, surrounded by her cases of computer equipment. JJ sat down beside her, needing her friend to just be there, right now. They sat next to each other throughout the briefing, and were both surprised when Hotch ended up stopping talking about twenty minutes before they were due to land in Orlando. Garcia stood up, and pulled JJ off to the end of the plane, in the little kitchenette. Garcia put the coffee pot on, and then spun around to JJ.

"Kitten, spill. You were talking to Emily, weren't you?" She looked through JJ with such a stare that JJ thought she would be hurt if she didn't do anything.

"Garcia...she told Hotch in Wyoming." JJ's voice broke as she thought about the woman who was her best friend being hurt like that by a man she both respected and hated at this moment in time.

"What? But...no. She would have told us, right? I mean, we're her best friends. There's no way she would have told us, she nearly yelled at us when we told her to tell Hotch how she feels."

"I know, but she wouldn't have said anything to us when she said it. What was she like on the plane back from Wyoming? Was she upset or anything?"

"She was kind of quiet, but I didn't notice too much. I was too busy coping on trying not to let Hotch notice me too much. He was pissed on that flig-" JJ cut herself off, realising what she hadn't noticed...and they were supposed to be behavioural analysts. Emily was quiet, Hotch was pissed, and the only person who didn't get a berating was Emily.

"Please tell me that you've realised exactly when it happened. Please, for the love of whatever, tell me you know when it happened."

"Two days ago...Emily was shot at, but she was fine. Hotch called her into the office that had been designated for him, and she came out looking shaky, but wouldn't tell me anything. I let it go, she'd been through a hard day and I thought that she was just breaking down thanks to it."

JJ took the coffee cup that Garcia offered her, and took a gulp of the steaming hot liquid. As she was drinking, Morgan poked his head around the curtain separating the kitchenette and the rest of the plane.

"Baby Girl, Hot Mama, we're landing in a few minutes. We've got to sit down and buckle up, you know the drill."

The two women went and sat down, and as soon as they were able to get off the plane, they were off and into the terminal. They'd had to fly into the main airport in Orlando, which was packed full. Walking through the internal flights terminal, the crowd parted when they saw the group of people, moving confidently through the crowds and looking around almost all-knowingly. At least, until JJ stopped, after seeing a face she knew.

"EMILY!" She yelled. Emily Prentiss turned her head, saw who'd called, and ran.


	3. Chapter 3

**I've gotten some amazing reviews, and I've realised that I feel at home in this fandom *happy feelings* THANK YOU EVERYONE!**

**CBS owns Criminal Minds...I don't even own the laptop I'm typing on, it's my sisters. Can I pretend to own one of the team? Please? ;)**

Emily Prentiss heard her name being called, and turned her head. She could see the team she'd just left behind in Virginia running towards her. JJ and Garcia looked happy to see her, but the only one she cared about - Hotch - didn't even look in her direction. Fortunately, she didn't have any luggage, just her small bag, so she could run. Her heart beat quickly, but she managed to get through passport control quickly, whilst everyone else was stuck behind a queue of tourists. Emily breathed a sigh of relief, and went to the cab queue, so she could get to the hotel she was booked into. Fortunately there were more than enough cabs for the amount of people in the queue, so she picked one up quickly.

"The Hilton, please," She said to the cab driver, then grimaced as her phone vibrated. Looking down at the screen, she saw that her mother was calling her. Sighing, she answered the phone, and allowed the barrage of words to wash over her. The were more than tinged with an air of superiority. Ambassador Prentiss always felt that she was right. She'd been almost begging Emily to leave the bureau for years, because it 'wasn't the appropriate job for a woman, let alone the daughter of an ambassador'. And now she'd gotten her wish.

"Emily, do you even hear what I'm saying?" She was screaming down the phone.

"Mom, I can hear you. I'm after starting a vacation, ok? I don't think that I can talk right now, I'm in an area with bad reception. I'll call you soon, promise." And with that, Emily had hung up.

The traffic at the airport was heavy, and she looked back at the exit. The entire team - no. Not 'the team'. They were the FBI now, she had no right to use familiarity with them was there, looking around. They all looked determined, except for Hotch. Hotch looked...broken? Finally, the cab moved, and they went out of focus with distance...or maybe tears.

After an uneventful cab ride, during which Emily just stayed quiet and let tears run down her face, she arrived at the Hilton. Giving the cab driver a large tip for dealing with a crying woman for a while, she went in and up to the front desk.

"Hi, I need a room for a week, is that possible?" She had on a voice which said 'don't mess with me', and just wanted to get her key and go to her room, and nap.

"Yes, Ma'am. We have a double room, is that suitable for you?" The receptionist asked. She was either in High School, or barely out of it. Normally Emily wouldn't have paid attention to anything like that, but she was becoming more and more aware of everything and everyone.

"Yes, perfect," Emily said. She handed over her credit card, and didn't wince when she heard the total. She'd saved enough money up over the years to enable her to spend a week in a top class hotel, and go to all the theme parks. So that's what she would do, as well as adding in getting drunk most nights.

Taking her key and credit card, she walked over to the elevator, and got in, getting up to the fourteenth floor before getting out. Her room was 1408, and she opened up her door.

Hotel rooms had lost their lustre in her years as an agent. She was never as excited about staying at a hotel anymore, because it was part of her job. She didn't even want to take a shower cap with her, unlike most people.

Emily plopped down on the bed, and then decided to go out around Orlando for a while, and be a proper tourist. She had travelled all around the country, been in Orlando - twice, actually. But the problem was she'd never gotten to experience the city. Now she would.

She changed her outfit, putting on dark jeans and a blue v-neck tshirt. Her hair was put up in a clip, and she'd put on enough anti-perspirant to last her six months in Virginia. Opening the door, she heard a familiar babble of noises, and shut it quickly again. _Fuck._

Why, why, why were they here? Could they not leave her alone? Then Emily's senses returned, and she remembered that the Hilton was where they always stayed, no matter where they were. The Bureau had a contract with the Hilton Corporation. If there was anything that happened in a city where there was a Hilton, they went there.

After about ten minutes, Emily cracked the door and saw that the hallway was empty. She went down, going by the stairs. Fourteen flights down wasn't too hard, but fourteen up would be. But she'd jump that hurdle when she came to it.

Walking outside, she noticed the restaurant beside the hotel. It was one of those weird chain ones, that tried to make itself look like a mom and pop one, but it still retained the air of being a chain. She went in and sat down at the bar, holding a menu in her hand. While she wasn't hungry, Emily knew that if she didn't eat, she'd be in serious trouble, bodywise. She ordered a chicken-pasta dish, and watched the room, sitting down on the stool.

There was a family of tourists sitting across the room, just five of them. They were Irish, judging by the soccer jersey on the youngest child, a boy. There were two other children, if you could call the eldest a child. She looked about eighteen, with brown hair, giggling with her family. The middle child had a bad case of middle child syndrome, considering she refused to participate. The two adults were cosying up together, and looked in love. Not only did they look in love, they looked happy.

Emily's meal came, and she ate it without tasting anything. Deciding to be a proper tourist for the day, Emily walked out into the boiling heat and got a cab. She got in, and went into the city.

If Emily had been noticing anything, she probably would have noticed the man who was always where she was at any given time. But she didn't.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sick. Yup, it's official. Therefore, I write. And listen to sappy boybands. This was written to N*sync, Backstreet Boys, Take That and Westlife...essentially the playlist to my childhood! Thank you to all my reviewers, and if you haven't, I don't bite. And I respond to reviews!**

**I own: My phone, an unfortunate love of 90's music**

**I don't own: Criminal Minds...*pout***

After losing Emily, the team was back in a mood. Hotch hailed two cabs, and they got in, and decided to get to the hotel to drop their go bags before heading into the police station that was handling these cases. Hotch let his mind wander during the cab ride, remembering exactly what he'd said to Emily that caused her to quit.

_There was a knock on the door of the office that Hotch had been given by the Chief of Police. He was sorting out the last few things that needed to be filled out in Wyoming, and should be finished in a few minutes._

_"Come in," He called, expecting it to be one of the deputies. Instead, Emily Prentiss walked in. She looked nervous, scared, almost. Hotch just wanted to hold her, but he couldn't. Those feelings had been kept in place for long enough, he had to keep them. For both their sakes._

_"Hotch," she said, sitting down in the uncomfortable looking seat in front of him, "can we talk?"_

_"Of course, Prentiss. What about?" Hotch kept his voice calm and level._

_"Hotch...this will be odd for you to hear, but just listen to me. I like you...as more than a boss. And I know, it just seems like a stupid crush, I know, but it feels like more than that. I've liked you since the day I started at the BAU, when you were so stand-offish and almost cruel to me. I still liked you, because I thought you were handsome. And now, as I've gotten to know you more and more over the last few years, I realised that I love you. I love your personality. I love your little quirks. I love that as soon as it's seven am on the east coast you'll ring Jack, and when it gets to six pm you'll call again and say goodnight. I love how your face has dimples, but only people who know you well have even the slightest chance of knowing that, because they're nearly always under a perpetual frown. I just love y-"_

_"Prentiss. Don't say anything else. If you do, I'll have to make you apply for a transfer. Don't say a word."_

_"Hotch. I've seen you stare at me for the past two years. You can tell me that you don't like me in that way, just don't make me feel like a fool for loving you."_

_"What do you want me to say, you're in the right for doing it? You know I won't do that. I can't stand you, I barely like you! I put up with you for the sake of this team." Hotch stopped, realising what he had said to the woman he loved. It wasn't meant like that at all, he didn't even mean any of it. He just...let it out. Wanting to take it back, but he couldn't. If he took it back, he'd be admitting how he felt. The last time he'd fallen for someone, she'd left him and then been killed thanks to his job. Aaron Hotchner refused to let any other woman he loved be put in that position. If it meant breaking his happiness, he would._

_Emily just looked at him, tears in her eyes. She turned on her heel, and walked out. Hotch just put his head down and cried._

The car had stopped, so Garcia broke Hotch out of his thoughts. They moved into the hotel, and sorted out rooms. Then, they got the elevator up to the fourteenth floor. There was an open door on the floor, and a dark-haired head popped out, and then shoved her head back in. He took no notice of it, and just went to the room he was to share with Morgan. Now that there were six on the team, they could share rooms more.

Getting to the station, he went over the profile one more time with Dave and Reid. Getting there, he took a deep breath before walking into the busy station. Meeting the Police Captain, he introduced himself and the team, and co-ordinated with Captain Donoghue about a meeting to give the profile. Ten minutes later, all officers who were working on the case were there, and they began the briefing.

"Hello. I'm Agent Hotchner, and these are Agents Rossi and Morgan, Doctor Reid, our technical analyst Penelope Garcia, and the media liason on this case, Agent Jennifer Jareau. We've developed a profile that we think may fit this man.

"He's probably in between ages twenty to thirty five, and preys on emotionally vulnerable women, whether they're recently broken up, or recently been rejected by someone they love. He's probably either extremely good looking, or not that good looking. He's either grown tired of women throwing themselves at him, or wants a woman."

Dave broke in. "He's got a power complex, and is severely misogynistic. There's no saying what he will do to the woman. The rapes have been getting progressively more violent, and he will progress to killing unless he is stopped."

Hotch continued. "This may not seem like a lot, but this particular unsub doesn't leave many calling cards. Are there any questions?"

The regular question was asked, and answered. By the time the briefing was over, they knew as much about the unsub as any of the team. JJ went off to do the press conference, and the team sat to wait for either another victim, or someone who knew the unsub.


	5. Chapter 5

**The plot, it does be thickening...I know it seems slow now, but I need that build up. The action will kicks off here, though. Also, I've some amazing reviewers, who know who they are. Thank you to all of them, it means a lot.**

**CBS owns CM, I own my imagination, twisted as it is.**

Emily stretched, and let her eyes focus on the hotel room around her. It looked like nearly every other hotel room, with neutral colours, a large bed, dark furniture and everything that can be strapped down, strapped down. She was sprawled out across the bed, her legs on the right, her torso on the left. She pulled the duvet off her and walked into the small bathroom. Turning on the shower, she waited for a minute, then stepped into the shower. It was just the right temperature, almost hot enough to boil her skin off. Grabbing her shampoo, she put a generous amount into her hand, and lathered her hair up. Letting the hot water run down her body, she felt refreshed. Hot showers had always made her feel that way.

Finishing off scrubbing her body and conditioning her hair, she got out of the shower, and put her hair up in a small towel, and dried her body. She picked out khaki slacks and a red scoop neck t-shirt. Putting them on, she put a pair of trainers on her feet, and sat in front of the mirror to brush and dry her hair. She clipped it up, to keep it out of her way for the day, because she had plans. However, her first thing to do was to go downstairs and get her breakfast.

Arriving downstairs, Emily got a cup of waffle batter, and made a waffle in the waffle iron, and then followed it off with toast and strawberry jelly. Finishing her food, she brought her plate and cutlery to the designated areas, and, picking up her bag, left the hotel for Disneyland.

Emily started off in Adventureland, and made her way all around the park, stopping at all the big rollercoasters, which were her personal favourites. After going on three or four, she decided to break for lunch at one of the many restaurants around the park. Sitting down with a burger, fries and coke, she began to eat. Her mind had been occupied, but now it was empty and she was thinking.

"Excuse me, miss, but can I sit here?" A voice broke through Emily's thoughts, and she gestured to him to sit down opposite her.

"I'm Emily, Emily Prentiss. And you are...?" Emily's senses weren't going off, and she trusted her gut.

"I'm Daniel. Daniel Whittaker. Are you here by yourself too?" He asked, joking.

They were getting along well, and when Daniel asked her if she wanted to go around the park with him, she agreed. They went to the rollercoasters, and Daniel bought a photo of them together on Space Mountain. They had dinner together as well, and Emily was thoroughly enjoying her day. Daniel had a hold of her hand, and she let him hold it. They sat together, and were happy for a while. Daniel grabbed Emily, and pulled her out of the restaurant, and showed her the fireworks that were going on. She leaned into him, and without warning, Daniel kissed her.

Their lips moved together, and his tongue gently massaged hers. It was a sweet kiss, full of passion, at least on Daniels side. Emily could smell his peppermint scented breath, and felt the rough callouses of his fingers on her head, on the back of her neck. He was almost holding onto her for dear life. She concentrated on kissing him, and not pulling away. She could just give him a fake number afterwards, but pulling away now could be dangerous. Her intuition, which had been dormant all day, was roaring back into life, and was concentrating on yelling "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" to her. But she couldn't pull away.

Finally the kiss ended, and Daniel pulled her closer.

"Oh, Emily, you really shouldn't have done that...now I have to keep you, that kiss was something else." Emily began to pull away, but she felt what she knew to be the barrel of a gun in the small of her back, and walked forward, doing exactly what Daniel told her. When she got to the car he told her to get into, he tied a blindfold around her head and put a gag in her mouth, before being put in the trunk of the car.

The last thing that Emily remembered was being pulled out of a car, and being pushed into a cold damp room, before she hit her head off the concrete floor.

* * *

JJ had had a long day, and she was finished at midnight, when someone else would start their twelve hour shift. At this stage, JJ didn't know who it would be, she was counting down the last hour and a half. The phone on the table rang, and she picked it up.

"Hello, Northwest Police Precinct, Public Appeals hotline. How can I help?"

"Hi...I'm after seeing a woman being pulled away by a man in Disneyland, and she looks exactly like those poor girls whose picture you had on the tv. I remember him saying "Come on, Emily. I'll hurt you if you don't."

JJ took all the womans details, before calling the team. If everything was as it seemed, and the woman wasn't a crank - which JJ doubted. She'd given a phone number, name and date of birth, which all matched up - then her best friend was the latest victim, and possibly the first murder victim. The new victim was Emily Prentiss.


End file.
